Vincent Thomas

Vincent Thomas (16 April 1907-January 1980) was a member of the California State Assembly from 1941 to 1979, serving as a Democratic Party politician.

Biography
Vincent Thomas was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States on 16 April 1907, the third of eight children born to a family of Croatian immigrants. In 1917, the family moved to Oakland, California, and he graduated from the University of Santa Clara in 1932. In 1940, while working at a fish processing factory, he was elected to the State Assembly as a Democratic Party politician, and he served 19 consecutive terms in the State Assembly. In 1963, the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles was named for him, and he paid the very first toll, which was a quarter. He lost re-election in 1979, and he died a year later.